Conservation Roundup: Winter 2013

It was mid-December, back in the day when many of us thought that New Year’s Eve 2012 would be marked by a colossal fiscal cliff budget deal that brought some certainty to our Nation’s economic picture...

What do Brewer’s Sparrow, Sage Sparrow, Sage Thrasher, and Greater Sage-Grouse have in common? You guessed it, sagebrush vegetation. And like the iconic sage grouse, populations of these birds are in decline. Partners in Flight and the Intermountain West Joint Venture (IWJV) have identified each bird as a conservation priority...

In southeast Oregon, an unlikely set of partners have come together to address the future of some of North America’s most important bird habitats. The challenges here – a tenacious carp and a culture of conflict – have long seemed insurmountable. But things are changing as a result of new partnerships; collaboration, cooperation, and good science are set to trump decades of conflict and failure...

The annual in-person meeting of the IWJV State Conservation Partnership (SCP) Chairs in Albuquerque, New Mexico featured a packed agenda, enthusiastic discussions, presentations, and field tour of New Mexico’s arid and biologically rich landscape. The collective energy of that meeting continues to resonate...